Chinese stocks sink to lowest levels since 2014

A man reads a newspaper while keeping an eye on stock price movements at a securities company in Beijing. (Photo: AFP/NICOLAS ASFOURI) The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index dropped 5.22 per cent, or 142.38 points, to 2,583.46, marking the lowest level since November 2014. The Shenzhen Composite Index, which tracks stocks on China’s second exchange, plummeted 6.45 per cent, or 89.15 points, to 1,293.90, the lowest point since September 2014. READ: Asia shares shattered in early trade by Wall Street rout, China’s yuan under fire It is the second dive in Chinese bourses this week after both Shanghai and Shenzhen fell nearly four per cent on Monday. “(The) Chinese market already suffered a blow in confidence after Monday and investors were in a very sensitive state of mind,” said Zhang Yanbing, analyst with Zheshang Securities. “So they panicked and overacted today.” Other Asian markets also tumbled Thursday following the worst session on Wall Street for months, as US President Donald Trump said the Federal Reserve had “gone crazy” with plans for higher interest rates. “With the global markets rout, mainland shares cannot stay safe,” Guangzhou Wanlong Securities said in a research note. “Interest rate put aside, the Sino-US trade spat is to blame for the October market rout because people are worried the friction would evolve into a political confrontation.” Tokyo and Hong Kong both shed around four per cent, while Taipei was down around six per cent. Seoul fell more than four per cent and Sydney and Singapore both dropped… [Read full story]